Holy Saturday (Easter Eve)
Antiphon
Setting by Rachel Wilhelm: https://tinyurl.com/ssededyz
Man that is born of a woman
has but a short time to live and is full of misery.
He comes up and is cut down;
much like a flower in spring that blooms and then is gone.
He flees, he flees, as he were a shadow;
He flees, he flees, as he were a spark;
He blooms for a time then the wind
Blows him away…
All flesh is like grass.
He is but a breath, his days are like a shadow.
He’s of yesterday and not tomorrow, tomorrow.
All his years seem long and scatter in the breeze.
All his sorrow fleeting memory.
We thank you, heavenly Father,
that you have delivered us from the dominion of sin and death
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son;
and we pray that, as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his love he may raise us to eternal joys;
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen. WS2
Music: https://tinyurl.com/ufxekitx
God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
HYMN: Thomas Whytehead
Tune: Petra/Redhead https://tinyurl.com/2ksxp2tu
1 Resting from His work to-day
In the tomb the Saviour lay;
Still He slept, from head to feet
Shrouded in the winding-sheet,
Lying in the rock alone,
Hidden by the sealèd stone.
2 Late at even there was seen
Watching long the Magdalene;
Early, ere the break of day,
Sorrowful she took her way
To the holy garden glade,
Where her buried Lord was laid.
3 So with Thee, till life shall end,
I would solemn vigil spend:
Let me hew Thee, Lord, a shrine
In this rocky heart of mine,
Where in pure embalmèd cell,
None but Thou may ever dwell.
4 Myrrh and spices will I bring,
True affection’s offering;
Close the door from sight and sound
Of the busy world around;
And in patient watch remain
Till my Lord appear again.
PSALMS
Psalm 98 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ybagfe5m)
1 O sing unto the Lord a new song *
for he hath done marvellous things.
2 With his own right hand, and with his holy arm *
hath he gotten himself the victory.
3 The Lord declared his salvation *
his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
4 He hath remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel *
and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God.
5 Shew yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye lands *
sing, rejoice, and give thanks.
6 Praise the Lord upon the harp *
sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving.
7 With trumpets also, and shawms *
O shew yourselves joyful before the Lord the King.
8 Let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is *
the round world, and they that dwell therein.
9 Let the floods clap their hands,
and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord *
for he is come to judge the earth.
10 With righteousness shall he judge the world *
and the people with equity.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 99 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ycxaq7mg)
1 The Lord is King, be the people never so impatient *
he sitteth between the cherubims, be the earth never so unquiet.
2 The Lord is great in Sion *
and high above all people.
3 They shall give thanks unto thy Name *
which is great, wonderful, and holy.
4 The king’s power loveth judgement; thou hast prepared equity *
thou hast executed judgement and righteousness in Jacob.
5 O magnify the Lord our God *
and fall down before his footstool, for he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests,
and Samuel among such as call upon his Name *
these called upon the Lord, and he heard them.
7 He spake unto them out of the cloudy pillar *
for they kept his testimonies, and the law that he gave them.
8 Thou heardest them, O Lord our God *
thou forgavest them, O God, and punishedst their own inventions.
9 O magnify the Lord our God, and worship him upon his holy hill *
for the Lord our God is holy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 100 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ycklx9gf)
1 O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands *
serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.
2 Be ye sure that the Lord he is God *
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
3 O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise *
be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.
4 For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting *
and his truth endureth from generation to generation.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 101 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y7mv7duf)
1 My song shall be of mercy and judgement *
unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.
2 O let me have understanding *
in the way of godliness.
3 When wilt thou come unto me *
I will walk in my house with a perfect heart.
4 I will take no wicked thing in hand; I hate the sins of unfaithfulness *
there shall no such cleave unto me.
5 A froward heart shall depart from me *
I will not know a wicked person.
6 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour *
him will I destroy.
7 Whoso hath also a proud look and high stomach *
I will not suffer him.
8 Mine eyes look upon such as are faithful in the land *
that they may dwell with me.
9 Whoso leadeth a godly life *
he shall be my servant.
10 There shall no deceitful person dwell in my house *
he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
11 I shall soon destroy all the ungodly that are in the land *
that I may root out all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 98 (LSB Tone F: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-98-LSB.mp3)
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love
and faithfulness to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn;
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!.
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it,
the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord,
9 For he will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Psalm 99 (LSB Tone F: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-99-LSB.mp3)
1 The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is great in Zion,
he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy. is he!
4 The king in his might loves justice;
you have established equity;
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God, worship at His footstool!
Holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
They called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrong-doing.
9 Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Psalm 100 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-100.mp3)
1 Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; *
serve the LORD with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
2 Know this: The LORD himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
4 For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Psalm 101 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-101.mp3)
1 I will sing of mercy and justice; *
to you, O LORD, will I sing praises.
2 I will strive to follow a blameless course;
oh, when will you come to me? *
I will walk with sincerity of heart within my house.
3 I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; *
I hate the doers of evil deeds;
they shall not remain with me.
4 A crooked heart shall be far from me; *
I will not know evil.
5 Those who in secret slander their neighbors I will destroy; *
those who have a haughty look and a proud
heart I cannot abide.
6 My eyes are upon the faithful in the land, that they may
dwell with me, *
and only those who lead a blameless life shall
be my servants.
7 Those who act deceitfully shall not dwell in my house, *
and those who tell lies shall not continue in my sight.
8 I will soon destroy all the wicked in the land, *
that I may root out all evildoers from the city of the LORD.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, gentle and humble of heart,
you promised your kingdom to those who are like children.
Never let pride reign in our hearts.
In compassion embrace all who willingly bear your gentle yoke
now and forever. Amen. BCW
THE WORD OF GOD
A day is coming that belongs to the Lord,
when that which has been plundered from you will be divided among you.
I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for the battle,
the city will be captured,
the houses will be plundered,
and the women will be raped.
Half of the city will go forth into exile,
but what is left of the people won’t be eliminated from the city.
The Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.
On that day he will stand upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem.
The Mount of Olives will be split in half
by a very large valley running from east to west.
Half of the mountain will move north,
and the other half will move south.
You will flee through the valley of my mountain,
because the valley of the mountains will reach to Azal.
You will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Judah’s King Uzziah.
The Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
On that day, there will be no light.
Splendid things will disappear.
On one day known to the Lord, there will be neither day nor night,
but at evening time there will be light.
On that day, running water will flow out from Jerusalem,
half of it to the Dead Sea
and half of it to the Mediterranean;
this will happen during the summer and the fall.
The Lord will become king over all the land.
On that day the Lord will be one,
and the Lord’s name will be one.
The entire land will become like the desert
from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem will be high up and firmly in place
from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the former gate,
to the Corner Gate, and from the Hananel Tower to the king’s wine vats.
People will dwell in it;
it will never again be destroyed.
Jerusalem will dwell securely.
HYMN: Bernard Barton
Tune: Caithness https://tinyurl.com/43v4hnkh
1 We journey through a vale of tears,
By many a cloud o’ercast;
And worldly cares, and worldly fears,
Go with us to the last.
2 Not to the last! Thy word hath said,
Could we but read aright,–
Poor pilgrim, lift in hope thy head;
At eve it shall be light!
3 Only believe, in living faith,
His love and power divine;
And ere thy sun shall set in death,
His light shall round thee shine.
4 When tempest-clouds are dark on high,
His bow of love and peace
Shines sweetly in the vaulted sky,–
A pledge that storms shall cease.
5 Hold on thy way, with hope unchilled,
By faith and not by sight,
And thou shalt own His word fulfilled,–
At eve it shall be light.
READING: 1 John 5:5-12
This is the one who came by water and blood: Jesus Christ. Not by water only but by water and blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. The three are testifying— the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and the three are united in agreement. If we receive human testimony, God’s testimony is greater, because this is what God testified: he has testified about his Son. The one who believes in God’s Son has the testimony within; the one who doesn’t believe God has made God a liar, because that one has not believed the testimony that God gave about his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave eternal life to us, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have God’s Son does not have life.
HYMN: Charles Wesley
Tune: Selena https://tinyurl.com/4j9fvr9e
1 O LOVE divine! what hast Thou done?
The immortal God hath died for me!
The Father’s co-eternal Son
Bore all my sins upon the tree;
The immortal God for me hath died;
My Lord, my Love, is crucified.
2 Behold Him, all ye that pass by,
The bleeding Prince of life and peace!
Come, sinners, see your Maker die,
And say, was ever grief like His?
Come. feel with me His blood applied:
My Lord, my Love, is crucified:
3 Is crucified for me and you,
To bring us rebels back to God:
Believe, believe the record true,
Ye all are bought with Jesu’s blood,
Pardon for all flows from His side:
My Lord, my Love, is crucified.
4 Then let us sit beneath His Cross,
And gladly catch the healing stream,
All things for Him account but loss,
And give up all our hearts to Him;
Of nothing think or speak beside:
My Lord, my Love, is crucified.
It was the Preparation Day and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath, especially since that Sabbath was an important day. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of those crucified broken and the bodies taken down. Therefore, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men who were crucified with Jesus. When they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead so they didn’t break his legs. However, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. The one who saw this has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he speaks the truth, and he has testified so that you also can believe. These things happened to fulfill the scripture, They won’t break any of his bones. And another scripture says, They will look at him whom they have pierced.
After this Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take away the body of Jesus. Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one because he feared the Jewish authorities. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took the body away. Nicodemus, the one who at first had come to Jesus at night, was there too. He brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe, nearly seventy-five pounds in all. Following Jewish burial customs, they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the spices, in linen cloths. There was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish Preparation Day and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus in it.
CANTICLE Jonah 2:2-9
(Patrick Schlabs: https://tinyurl.com/yy9zwfv6)
You cast me out into the deep
And there your floods surround
I sank beneath the raging sea
As billows crashed around
I was thrown out from your sight
And I was driven away
I know I will see with my eyes
Again your holy place
Refrain:
I called to God in my distress
He has heard my voice
I cried to him out of the depths
He answered my call, he answered my call
The waters closed in over me
They came to bring me death
I was covered up by the deep
Weeds choked out my breath
I sank down to the mountain roots
The earth had locked me in
Just as the grave sealed up its gates
You saved me from the pit Refrain
As my life fainted away
I remembered you my God
All those who hope in idols vain
Forsake their hope of loveI called to God in my distress
He has heard my voice
I cried to him out of the depths
He answered my call
So with my voice I will give thanks
A sacrifice to you
What I have vowed I now will pay
Salvation comes from you
Salvation comes from you
Salvation comes from you
THE PRAYERS CW:TS
Let us pray to the Father through his Son
who suffered on the cross for the world’s redemption.
Fill Christ’s broken body, the Church, with your Spirit…
Give to Christian people everywhere a deep longing
to take up the cross and to understand its mysterious glory.
By the Saviour’s cross and passion,
Lord, save us and help us.
Bless those who lead the Church’s worship at this solemn time …
In the preaching of the word and the celebration of the sacraments
draw your people close to you.
By the Saviour’s cross and passion,
Lord, save us and help us.
Strengthen those who are preparing for baptism,
together with their teachers, sponsors and families …
Teach them what it means to die and rise with Christ
and prepare them to receive the breath of his Spirit.
By the Saviour’s cross and passion,
Lord, save us and help us.
Look in your mercy upon the world you loved so much
that you sent your Son to suffer and to die …
Strengthen those who work to share
the reconciliation won at such a cost upon the cross.
By the Saviour’s cross and passion,
Lord, save us and help us.
Bring healing by the wounds of Christ
to all who are weighed down by pain and injustice …
Help the lonely and the betrayed, the suffering and the dying,
to find strength in the companionship of Jesus,
and in his passion to know their salvation.
By the Saviour’s cross and passion,
Lord, save us and help us.
Welcome into paradise all who have left this world in your friendship …
According to your promises,
bring them with all your saints
to share in all the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection.
By the Saviour’s cross and passion,
Lord, save us and help us.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy on us.
Setting by Eric Wyse:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread;
and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
Eternal God, rock and refuge:
with roots grown old in the earth,
river beds run dry,
and flowers withered in the field,
we wait for revival and release.
Abide with us
until we come alive
in the sunrise of your glory. Amen. RCLP
Music: https://tinyurl.com/y9efvwm5
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 2 Cor. 13:14
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BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.
CW:TS Common Worship: Times and Seasons, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2006 and published by Church House Publishing.
WS2 The Worship Sourcebook, 2nd edition, © 2013, Faith Alive Christian Resources
RCLP Revised Common Lectionary Prayers. © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.
The three main scripture readings are from the The New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Edition, The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The traditional language psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The modern language versions of Psalms 82 and 85 are from the The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and is sung by Ryland Angel. Psalm 83 is the version sung by Jason Silver, while Psalm 84 is the Coptic chant in the version used in the Agpeya, the Coptic office book.
Musical links are usually either to artists’ albums posted on Spotify or to recordings made available at smallchurchmusic.com. Audio stripped from YouTube videos is footnoted accordingly above.
Compilation © 2025 Stephen T. Benner. All links worked at the time they were created, but I cannot accept responsibility for their content or any damage resulting from their use. The linked content is under the control of the respective content creators and is subject to change at any time. Any copyright texts included in this compilation are provided for non-commercial purposes related to study or worship. Please contact the respective copyright holders for permission to use the texts in other contexts.
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